A BRIGHT new future is being predicted for Norway's farmed salmon after some difficult times, according to a new report.
Thanks to higher prices Norwegian salmon farmers have seen their income rise markedly and they are now starting to report better results.
The report suggests that Norway will remain the most important salmon producer in northern Europe for the foreseeable future.
Last month the Norwegian Fish Export Council reported that Norway's seafood exports of all types of fish were worth more than £300 million sterling (3.3 billion Norwegian kroners) and increase of some 13 per cent on last year.
The main reason for the increase is higher demand from our chief markets for salmon in Russia and the EU. There is also an increasing demand for Norwegian salmon in the US following the outbreak of the ISA virus in Chile, normally America's main supplier. On top of this there is a higher demand for Norwegian herring from Russia.
Senior seafood analyst Kolbjoern Giskeoedegaard said a fellow analyst from Chile commented recently that the Norwegian salmon industry was heading for a golden age. 'I believe he is right.' Norwegian production for 2009 looks like increasing by 15 per cent - and this is at a time when production in the rest of the world is in decline.
As a number of seafood suppliers in the UK have noted with some dismay, prices have increased by 30 per cent over the past year and are likely to remain high in the near future.
Should fisheries be closed during breeding time to allow stocks to reach more sustainable levels?
